


one more sip (for a tortured soul)

by sleepicide



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Break Up, Cheating, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Gaara & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Gift Giving, Heartbreak, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Minor Character Death, Naruto is Just Naruto, New Year's Kiss, No Smut, Sad Ending, Service Dogs, Texting, Uzumaki Naruto is a Good Friend, gaara beats him up, kiba is a bad person, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 04:30:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20960501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepicide/pseuds/sleepicide
Summary: Kiba and Kakuro had been dating for five months now, and Kankuro was an idiot but he knew what love felt like, and this was it. Some weird, puppy love, but love nonetheless.or;Kankuro meets Kiba, and falls in love with him.Kiba, evidently, doesn't share the sentiment.





	one more sip (for a tortured soul)

Kankuro remembers when he’d first saw the small group of rag-tag friends. It was the first day of his 8th grade year when he’d seen a group of about ten kids shoving and pushing at each other with chatter and laughter surrounding them. He remembers the bewilderment when he’d learned somehow, some way, all ten of those little fuckers got the same homeroom, when not even he and his two friends were placed in the same class. He remembers thinking that there was no way that little group of friends would last, before he walked into his first period. They were all pieces to a different puzzle, but they all fit together the same. The ten of them had been in 6th grade when he was in 8th, and for three years after that he’d only saw glimpses of them when they’d come and pick Gaara up, or some of them would come over. 

He distinctly remembered Naruto and Sasuke, the two always bickering and fighting, and Sakura, the glue to the three. He also remembered Kiba, a scrawny, spit fire kid who always hung around another girl; she was quiet, didn’t talk much, and practically had dots for eyebrows, which was more than what he could say for his brother. Freyja, he thinks her name was. Her mouth was always covered with this worn out scarf, and she had dots under her eyes. Bangs covered her forehead, and she had just enough hair to pull back into a ponytail, and despite her quiet nature, she could dish out some killer insults if she wanted to. ‘Tall as a tree,’ he’d heard them tease, and they were right. The light skinned girl was 5’7, and she was built like a redwood: broad shoulders, and hands that looked like she could crush a cow in seconds. By the time they were in high school, she stood at 6’2 and looked like she packed a punch that could kill an elephant.

Their little team had gone from ten to eleven, and Kankuro was happy they’d accepted his brother. He learned a lot about the group from Gaara when he’d come back from their outings, like that Shikamaru and Freyja lived together, due to said girl’s parents kicking her out two years prior, or that said girl also took boxing classes, or that Kiba’s sister had started up her own little training business. He remembers when Sasuke had run away, and no one saw, or heard from him for three months. He eventually came back, of course, but it had been a worrisome three months for the group. 

Kankuro didn’t know much about the girl beyond that, but when he’d think back, she was always there, with the group. Mainly with Kiba or Shikamaru, even through highschool. Or, well, the two years he’d been there with the group.

So maybe that’s why it stood out to him so distinctively when he saw the group in full, two years later. All of them were in their early twenties, and they all seemed to still be so close, but there was something.. gone; missing from the group, a different vibe too, but he just couldn’t place his finger on it.

  
  


It was around 2:28 when they had walked into the tattoo and piercing shop that he worked in. He had turned around, customer service voice on and ready, “Hello, how can I- holy shit.”

He hadn’t been able to stop himself from blurting it out, when he’d laid his eyes on the group of ten ( _ ‘ten?’ _ he’d thought curiously when he’d seen them, but shrugged it off.) that had strolled through the parlor’s doors. 

He’s exasperated, and nearly wants to cry at the sight of the lot of them. “Please tell me all of you don’t plan on getting pierced or tatted.” _ ‘I’m so close to clocking out, please don’t rob me of my afternoon nap.’  _

“Well, not all of us?” Kiba gives a bashful, and apologetic smile. “It’s just me, Shikamaru, and Naruto.” he sighs in relief. He didn’t take Shino for the piercing type, anyways. Or Choji, for that matter.

“Okay, I can probably do you all within an hour, probably less.” he shrugs, because he knows he’s the only one in this shop that they’d trust to do this. It’s trust by association of Gaara, but trust nonetheless.

He waves them all to the back, waving to Pein and Hidan as he passes by them. After he gets his hand washed, and his gloves on, he looks at the three in question, “So, what kind of piercings do you want?”

Kiba wanted his left ear pierced (Sakura had to break up an almost fight as Naruto had whispered ‘ _ gayyy.’ _ ) Shikamaru wanted his tongue pierced, and Naruto wanted both of his ears pierced. All in all, pretty easy piercings. He was done in about 35 minutes.

As he rang the three up, he glanced over the group again. When they first came in, he hadn’t paid much attention, but he looked to Kiba’s right, and Shikamaru’s left, he realized that Freyja was the one missing. 

He didn’t know what came over him to ask, still doesn’t know, but he'd spoken before he’d thought:

“You know, I could’ve sworn there was one more of you the last time I saw you guys.”

He’d said it in a teasing manner, but he quickly realized that that was definitely the  _ wrong _ thing to say. The two said boys tensed up, and the whole group was suddenly as taut as a bowstring. 

The tension was almost suffocating, as well as the silence, but the latter was quickly broken. Kiba, having already paid, gave a death glare to Kankruo, and nearly snarled something about ‘going to wait in the car.’ Shikamaru had just shoved his money into Naruto’s hand, before storming out after the other boy. Hinata, Ino and Sakura looked ready to burst into tears, and Shino rested a hand on the ravenette’s shoulder, and even normally stoic Sasuke, offered a comforting hand to the other two. They exited quickly after the first two, leaving just Gaara, Naruto and Kankuro. 

He rubbed the back of his neck guiltily, “Wrong thing to say, huh?”

Naruto, with dull eyes, just gave him a sad smile and a nod, before he paid, and left, too.

He finally looked to his brother, eyes pleading for an explanation, but even Gaara wouldn’t look at him, “I’ll explain when we get to the house.” he made his way to the door, before pausing, and giving him a grim smile back at him.

And then he was alone.

  
  
  


It’s four pm once he gets home, and, surprisingly, Gaara is already home.

“Hey, thought you’d be out with your little squad a little longer.” Kankrou says, toeing his shoes off and hanging his jacket up on the coat rack. He’s already sitting on the couch before Garra responds.

“Nah, we all decided to cut in short today.” Kankrou flinches, rubbing the back of his neck again.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” but his brother is already shaking his head.

“There was no way you could have.. could have known.” he mumbled, something like pain swimming in his eyes, but other than that he’s despondent.   
  


They sit there for another thirty minutes before Gaara speaks up.

“Freyja’s been dead for almost two years now.” Kankrou nearly throws up.

“What?” he asks, “How didn’t-  _ why _ didn’t I know?” he feels guilt bubbling in his chest, threatening to spill over, because god he just put them all through that pain again. But then he feels anger because why hadn’t anyone told him?

Gaara just shrugs, “You had already moved out when she.. when it happened. You weren’t really close with any of us, so it was kinda just not a priority. She didn’t want it to be publicized.” 

“God, Gaara, I’m so sorry.” he pauses, before clearing his throat awkwardly, “How did, she, y’know, pass?” God he feels so bad for asking, but he feels like he has to know, if not to just torture himself over the pain he put those kids through again.

Gaara doesn’t answer at first, before he mutters, “She killed herself.”

He feels like he’s going to pass out from the sudden rush sympathy for his brother and his friends, and god especially Shikamaru.

“It was pretty… gruesome, apparently.” Gaara pauses, “I don’t know all the details, but Kiba is the one who found her, and he’s been going to therapy ever since and now has a service dog.”

“Jesus christ.” He breathes. “I’m sorry Gaara.” because he doesn’t know what else to say. He’s speechless, for once.

He shrugs, “It doesn't hurt as much anymore,” he pauses, “Is that bad? Should I still feel just as bad as I did then? Does it mean I’m just confirming what she thought to be true? What drove her to this?” The words just come spilling out of Gaara, and for the first time in a long time, he sees tears well up in his brother’s eyes. Kankrou moves to wrap his brother in a hug, because it’s so obvious he hasn’t talked about this properly. He just pulls him even closer to his chest once he feels his brother start to sob.

Kankrou definitely did not cry, thank you very much.

  
  


It’s a few weeks later the next time he sees Kiba, and he just looks tired. His makeup isn’t as crisp as usual, and his hair is a mess and those bags under his eyes are so prominent they must be designer. 

Kankuro also notices the large white dog beside him, with a black vest on that say in large patches ‘SERVICE DOG. DO NOT PET!’

Against his better judgement, he approaches him. He considers the fact that he probably doesn’t want to see him right now, and, like a fool, he disregards the fact.

He notices, as he gets closer, Kiba’s constant movement: bouncing his leg, tapping his middle finger and thumb together, pulling at his bottom lip, etc.

“Hey, Kiba.”

Said boy startles, nearly dropping the container of gel in hand hands, “Oh, hey Kankuro.” he gives him a toothy grin, and Kankruo doesn’t think it’s all that fake.

“Hey. Your piercing doing okay?” he nods at his ear, and Kiba subconsciously reaches up the rub it.

“Yeah, no infection, so that’s a plus.” he gave a small chuckle, before he quiets down, and looks back at the gels. “Hey, look, about what happened at the parlor: I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have glared at you like that, it’s not like you, uh, know or anything.” his hand scratches at the back of his neck, and he cant help but think about how cute Kiba is.

Kankruo nods, “Yeah, Gaara told me.” he pauses, before he gave a small sigh, “I know you’re probably tired of hearing it, but I'm sorry. I know you two were really close.” Kiba stays quiet, nodding. “To steer away from depressing topics, who’s this big ol’ ball of fluff?” Kankruo’s hand twitches, he wants the pet the lovable creature so bad, but he knows to respect the working dog and Kiba’s needs.

“This is Akamaru, my service dog. Say ‘hi’ boy.” the dog lifts a large, gangly paw as a doggy-wave, before he lets it fall back to the floor.

Kankuro cooes, “I guess I’ll just have to start hanging out with you two more to keep seeing you cutie,” Kiba grins, apparently under the impression that he’s addressing the dog, “and to pet Akamaru when he’s off duty.” he laughs softly, and Kiba, ever the subtle one, begins sputtering and flushing red.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” he finally squeaks out, and he nearly cooes for the second time that day.

But, he likes messing with Kiba, and now that he’s realized how adorable Kiba is when he flushes, he doesn’t think he’ll be in for stopping anytime soon. So, he just waves his hand dismissively, “You’re a smart kid, Kiba. I’m sure you can figure it out.” he gave him a small smirk, before stepping around the pair, “Well, I better get going. Bye pup, bye Akamaru.”

As he walks away, he hears Kiba give another strangled cry, and all he can do is laugh.

  
  
  


It’s two days later, around 15 past noon when there’s a pounding on his door. Gaara isn’t home, Temari is still off at college, and he isn’t expecting anyone, so he has no idea who it could be. As he sets his coffee down and walks to answer the door, it subconsciously occurs to him that all he has on right now are low hanging sweatpants, and he should probably put on a shirt, but he’s just woken up and his still-groggy mind is not really all that concerned about it. 

Which would prove to be either a blessing or a curse, as he opens the door, and hand raised to knock (pound) on his door again, is Kiba. The height difference is only by a couple inches, but at the moment it feels like they’re separated by at least two feet.

Kiba stares up at him, face flushed and clear of his usual makeup. Kankuro knows his is too, so he’s not all that bothered. “Hi.” he grumbles, throat still scratchy from sleep; he hadn’t even had his coffee yet, dammit.

Kiba’s eyes were still locked on his face, as he squeaked a greeting in return. Kankuro sighs, opening the door wider and letting the Inuzuka and his fluffy companion into his home.

“So, why are you here?” he mumbled, running a hand through his hair, he didn’t mean to sound rude, but he hadn’t even gotten a sip of his coffee yet. Speaking of, he thinks as he picks up the wooden mug he’d made himself. He leans up against the wall, and raised a brow as Kiba squirmed on the couch, Akamaru resting on his feet.

“Well, uh, you see,” he flushed again, before looking away at the door, huffing, “I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out some today.” Kankuro blinked, taking a sip of his black coffee before using his shoulders to push himself off the wall.

“Sure, puppy, let me get dressed,” he glanced at his nails, scowling as he noticed one of the nail’s paint had nearly come all the way off, “and fix this stupid nail.” he huffed, grumbling as he walked into his room.

He passed by his shelf of puppets reaching into his closet and pulling out a form-fitting black long-sleeved turtleneck, before grabbed his favorite ripped black skinny jeans with a chain on them, along with his, you guessed it, black platform combat boots. After he got dressed, he grabbed his black nail polish and made his way to the living room, where Kiba was trying to get Akamaru off of the couch.

“Akamaru, this isn’t our house, get down!” he hissed quietly, trying (and failing) to push him off. He looked utterly distraught.

“Hey, he’s fine, that couch isn’t that expensive anyways.” he waved his hand that wasn’t holding the polishes dismissively. He paused as he came to stand nearly in front of the two. Akamaru didn’t  _ seem  _ like he was working, so.. “Can I pet him?” he asked warily, smiling gently after Kiba nodded. He crouched down, grinning like an idiot as he scratched the big dog behind the ears, and he started thumping his tail, and letting his tongue hanging out like the big goofy thing he was, “Heh, you’re just at cute as your dad is.” he murmured playfully, and laughed when Kiba swatted the back of his head.

“Don’t be a dick.” he huffed, and Kankuro stood up, his knees cracking loudly. Kiba gave a startled laugh, “Damn, dude, did you have pop rocks in your knees or something? Jesus your knees are worse than my grandma’s, and she’s dead.” Kankuro gave a snort-like laugh, from the unexpectedness of his statement.

“Kami, kid, you don’t ever change do you?” he said, quieting down his chuckled. He sat on the floor at the end of the coffee table, before he unscrewed the cap and began carefully painting his nails. He could feel the younger male watching him, and he eventually broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them, “What is it?” he asked, gently waving his hand to get the coat to dry faster.

“N-nothing, just.. it looks good on you, is all.” Kiba said, but Kankuro could tell there was something else. So he simply turned his gaze on him, and not his drying nail polish. They stared at each other for a moment, before Kiba reluctantly signed. “I just.. I always used to have my nails painted, and I miss it. I haven’t had them painted in nearly two years.”

Kankuro furrowed his brows, “Then why don't you paint them?” he asked, gently, hoping it wasn’t because someone had said something, or because his family was unsupportive of it.

Kiba was quiet for a moment, before he glanced off to the side, “I can’t paint my own nails, hands aren’t steady enough.”

Kankuro frowned as realization slowly dawned on him, “Oh, Kiba.” he gave a small sigh, before motioning him towards him, “Come here.”

Kiba, although hesitant, complied with his request. He sat down at the side of the coffee table, but still close enough to the point where he could feel Kankuro’s knee crushing his.

The said man held out his hand, expectantly, and when Kiba just looked at him confused, he sighed, “Give me your hand- actually, wait a second, I’ve got to grab a few things.” he interrupted himself as he stood, his knees popping again. He walked to his room, grabbing the nail primer, cuticle stick, a nail file that he’d found worked best to avoid lifting, as well as his jar of wipes, that were soaked in cosmetic grade acetone. 

He came back out of the room, and sat back down, double checking that he had everything, “I’m going to do your nails, and the polish should stay on for two or three weeks. When it starts to chip, or you want it redone, come find me.” he hums, and he holds his hand back out, “If you want them painted. If not, I’ll go and put this up and we can go and do something else.” he reassures. Kiba stared at him for a few moments, before putting his smaller, shaky hand in the older man’s. 

So, he gets to work, while Kiba looks the other way to pet and play with Akamaru a little.

Kankuro pretends not to see him crying.

The whole thing takes around an hour and a half, as he had to be extra careful since Kiba’s hands were shaking most of the time. He didn’t mind, though; his hands were warm, and soft, and the time passed quickly. 

(And maybe Kankuro just liked the way his hand felt in his own, but he’d take that to the grave.)

They sat mostly in a soft silence, with Kiba gently humming, or pausing from petting his four-legged best friend to watch Kankuro work, or even when he’d pause his work to take a few sips of his coffee. Kiba, had, of course, taken this time to turn the tables on him.

“You look hot when you’re concentrated like that.” he had murmured out of the blue, and the said male nearly choked on the said drink. He’d sputtered for a moment and flushed, before setting the mug down and ultimately deciding with a response that would make Shakespear quiver in its wake:

“Shut up, Kiba.”

Which was followed by Kiba laughing, and jolsting his hand, and Kankuro had to fight out a strangled ‘stop moving!’ through his own laughter.

When the glossy top coat had finally dried, Kiba had held out his hand. Curiously, he placed his hand in the younger male’s. He watched as he looked at his hands, most might even say inspected, mumbling under his breath. If Kankuro could breathe, he might’ve laughed.

“You actually have really nice hands.” the male in question concluded, as they both gently pulling their hands away from the other. It was so.. soft. The moment felt like something you’d see out of a cheesy Hallmark movie. Kankuro felt a flutter in his chest, before they both seemed to realize they’d both been staring at each other for like two minutes. 

Kiba gave an awkward cough, and Kankuro snorted softly, “Smooth puppy.” he gave a small smile as he stood up, before promptly groaning in pain as his knees and back popped. He extended a hand to help the shorter boy up.

“A lot of hand holding today huh?” he hums as he’s hauled up, and Kankuro pretends, for Kiba’s sake, that he didn’t notice him watch his bicep flex as he did so.

“It seems so.” he lets go of his hand, lightly dragging his fingertips over the palm of his hand as he did so.

Kiba huffed, flushing scarlet, “That was dirty, Kankuro.” said man hummed as he rolled his neck, face scrunching up slightly at the series of ‘pop’s that followed.

When he finished, he grabbed his mug, making his way to the kitchen to put it in the sink. As he did so, he said over his shoulder, “You haven’t seen dirty yet, Kibs.”

He has no doubt in his mind that if he were closer, ‘Kibs’ would have swatted him upside the head, according to the strangled ‘Kankuro!’ he yelled out at him.

  
  


When they finally make their way out the door, it’s 1:48 pm, and they still have no idea what they’re doing.

“Do you want to eat somewhere?” Kiba asked, and he shrugs.

“That’s a-okay with me, boss. We can do whatever you want. Doesn’t matter to me.” and he hears Kiba’s step falter against the wooden stairs.

“Whatever I want?” he asks, and if Kankuro didn’t know any better, he’d say that was a suggestive comment.

He also stops on a step, turning his head to look him in the eyes, as he schools his expression into blankness, “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” he takes note that Kiba is about four steps above him, but he can’t say he cares about craning his head a little more to look at the sly male.

He takes a step, “What if,” a second step, “I,” another step, “wanted to,” a fourth step, they’re eye level now, and Kankuro knows this is dangerous territory. Nevertheless, he fully turns to stare at Kiba dead-on. He leans in closer, to the point where he can feel his breath ghosting across his lips and see the dusting of pink that the cold has already put on his cheeks and nose. Kankuro has to hold his breath.

“Go on a three mile run?”

“I’d have to change my clothes, but sure.”

“Wanted to go to a restaurant?”

“I’m poor, Kiba, but I’ll make it work.”

“Wanted to go back home?”

“I’ll drive you.”

Kiba hums, backing out of his personal space, “I think I want to go to a park.”

“Got it, let’s load up then.”

And so they did.

They spend hours at the park, after realizing there was a dog park, they took Akamaru’s vest off and let him play with the other dogs there. Kankuro’s arm, up to his elbow, rested on the back of the bench, and from the elbow down it hung between them. Kiba’s arm did the same, and if he smiled every time the sides of their hand brushed, well, then that was his business. 

Kiba’s phone buzzes, and he pulls it out, glancing at the text before frowning and looking up at him, “I’ve got to go.” 

Kankuro gives a pout of his own, making Kiba laugh, before grinning at him, “Alrighty. Get marshmallow over there and I’ll go and crank up the car, yeah?” he stands up, letting their hands brush slightly, before making his way over to his SUV. 

As expected, he nearly freezes his fingers off when he touches the handle, “Stupid November.” he huffs, even though there’s only like a week left of it. Nevertheless, he opens the door and quickly pulls his keys out, cranking the car up, and barely giving it enough time to properly run before he cranks the heat up. He gives a shuddering breath, watching his breath billow up into the air. He glances out the window, chuckling as he sees the large dog and Kiba speed walking to the car. Pausing for a moment, Kankuro turn’s Kiba’s seat warmer on, so it’ll already be heated up by the time he gets in the car.

“You okay?” he asks once the hatchback is opened, and he can see Kiba’s pouting glare in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah, no thanks to you.” he grumbles with no bite, patting Akamaru’s flank as he jumps into the cargo-space. He pouts at him one more time, before closing the hatchback. A few seconds later, he opens the door and slides into the passenger seat, sinking into the heated seat, mumbling an ‘oh god’ under his breath at the obviously welcomed warmth.

Kankuro can feel the shit eating grin on his face as he backs out of the parking lot, “Kankuro will do just fi- ow!” he yelps as Kiba punches his shoulder, “I’m driving!” he whines, pouting at the snickering male.

“You’re being a dick.” he corrects, but there’s, again, no bite. He gives a breathy chuckle, before he turns up the radio just enough to hear it, but Kiba wouldn’t have to talk loudly over it if he wanted to.

He didn’t, but that was okay. Comfortable silence between the two was quickly becoming normal, and neither could say they exactly rejected it.

When they pull up to Kiba’s house, he holds out his hand, “Give me your phone.” he’d promptly instructed, and Kankuro has complied. 

“I’ll text you,” he’d grinned, getting out of the car, and opening the hatchback for Akamaru, “See you later, Kankuro.” and then they’d been walking up the driveway to his house, and the older man had been driving away.

It’s a week and a half later when Termari texts Kankuro a video link.

‘ _ From: Temi _

_ Temi: _

_ Look at this!! _

_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqnJpsmycKwWaqb’ _

So he sighs, and clicks on it, and he figures it’ll be some stupid cat video, but, to his surprise it’s not.

In fact, it’s five familiar kids sitting on stools around one studio mic.

He glances at the channel name, snorting at their band name.

_ ‘Rookie 9, huh?’  _ he thought, grinning, as he’d waited for the video to load.

And then it started. Kiba, who was in the middle shifts slightly, adjusting his guitar, murmuring to the others, who respond back with simple ‘ready’s. Hinata and Shino are sitting on the left side of the mic, while Shikamaru and Ino sit on the right.

_ “‘Suicide baby, it’s the worst, _

_ Think about the people that you’ll hurt,’” _

he sang softly, strumming the instrument slightly.

Then, all of the began to sing, harmonizing, yet creating a slightly distorted voice.

_ “They won’t even care about the things I’ll choose to do _

_ Because all I am is all that I’ve been through.”  _

Kiba and Shikamaru’s noses were slightly scrunched, letting the pure, raw emotion bleed through into their voices. Hinata’s eyes were soft, dampened with tears, and her voice slightly wavered. Ino’s brow was furrowed, and Shino’s lip curled a little too much around the words to be normal.

Then, the setting changed, Shino sat at the drums, Kiba still stood front and center, with the other three s on the sides of him. Their voices straightened out, creating a smoother melody than before.

_ “ _ _ My skin is very young _

_ But my heart is very old _

_ My mind thinks lips and tongue _

_ But my bones decide my home.” _

The emotion bled through in all of their voices, he could tell this song meant a lot to them.

Shikamaru strummed his guitar, that had more of an electric tune to it than acoustic.

_ “My fears ran through my lungs _

_ And my eyes only saw gold _

_ My room’s where my throat hung _

_ And my fingers turned purple.” _

There were two beats of just Shikamaru’s guitar before it went back to the stools, where only Kiba sat this time, with his guitar. Shino’s drums start playing before he begins singing.

_ “‘It’s not worth it, baby I would know, _

_ My mom walked in, her sunny day went to snow.’” _

Kankuro flinches at the implication of that, and then it’s just Hinata and Ino sitting across from each other.

_ “What's the point of being here baby, _

_ I won’t see them cry, _

_ I’ll be somewhere in the clouds, I hope,  _

_ Tonight.” _

Their voices perfectly captured the melancholy and the pain of the lyrics, and he saw both girls were nearly about to burst into tears.

The five of them sing the chorus again, soft smiles on their faces, although they were more sad than happy.

Then, the drums stuttered to a stop, before picking up again. It was back at the stools, but this time it was just Shikamaru and Kiba, across from each other.

_ “But then I saw that death was not my treasure, _

_ That my life was headed for gold,  _

_ When my gold-chain-noise applied some pressure, _

_ I fought ‘till I bled cold.” _

Kankuro sat, transfixed, as he watched the two sing this line with a hopeful lilt to their voice. They both had true, genuine smiles on their faces, and it suited them.

These kids had taken their emotions and laid them bare for the world to see, and bared their teeth for anything that would come at them.

It was the next clip of the video that takes him off guard though.

It was obviously older, and he could tell not just by the quality, but for the scarved girl that was obviously the focal point.

_ “C’mon, sing it, sing it!” _ the boy behind the camera goads, zooming the camera in on her face slightly.

_ “Okay, okay, jesus. _ ” she huffs, although you can tell she’s smiling. She picks up the guitar with blue lightning striking all over it, obviously painted.

She strums the guitar, doing some quick tuning, before she sings out the chorus to the song. She looks so at peace while she sings, like it’s second hand nature.

_ “That’s all I have.” _

_ “That’s all you have?!” _ the camera man whines.

_ “Yes, and hey,” _ she paused, before doing a ‘rock on’ sign with her hands, and placing it on her forehead.

_ “Godspeed, Kiba.” _

The video ends.   
  


Kankuro decides to sleep before he does anything stupid, like text Kiba about the song.

It’s four days later when they see eachother again, and Kankuro thinks, for an off guard moment when he see’s Kiba, that maybe, just  _ maybe,  _ he’s falling in love.   
  


***   
  


December comes quickly, and so does the quickly approaching winter holiday.

Both Kankuro and Kiba had been busy, so they didn’t get as much time as they would’ve liked to hang out.

It’s the fifteenth when Kiba knock on his door, bundled up in a winter coat with Akamaru by his side.

The taller male grins, and quickly moved to the side so Kiba could step inside.

“Hey, Kibs.”

“Hi, Kanka-” he gets half way through his name before he has to stifle a chuckle, flaring his nostrils slightly in order to do so.

“What’s so funny?” the said make asks, and the dog-lover waves his hand dismissively.

“It’s uh, its nothing, can I sit down?”

“Of course, weirdo.” he teased, and Kiba snorted, plopping down on the couch with Akamaru under his feet.

“So, my family’s gonna be out of town Christmas, and we’re leaving tomorrow, and won’t get back until the thirtieth, so I wanted to give you your present.” he mutters, pink dusting his cheeks.

“Oh, okay.” Kankuro grins, sitting on the other end of the couch, grinning at the younger male, “What is it?”

“It’s- fair warning, it’s really stupid but uh, here.” he hands him a small box, and the purple-facepaint wearing male narrows his eyes playfully.

He tears off the wrapping, before opening the box, and stares.

“It’s-” Kiba starts laughing, “It’s a- it’s a Kank-aroo.” he wheezes out, and the older man continued to stare at the wooden animal.

He turns his gaze to the still laughing boy, and he gently places his hand on his cheek. Kiba stops, turning to stare back at him.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, and Kiba shifted, grabbing the back of his neck softly.

“Yeah.” he breathed, and so he did.

The kiss was soft and gentle, and Kankuro really hoped he was displaying all the affection he had for the scruffy headed boy in the one action.

Kiba seemed to get the message, as he smiled into the kiss, giving Kankuro’s bottom lip a playful nip. He made a soft startled noise, and the shorter boy took this chance to delve his tongue into the puppeteer’s mouth.

_ ‘Oh yeah,’ _ he thinks, gently cupping the boy’s cheeks with large, calloused hands, _ ‘I’m falling in love.’ _   
  


“Hey,” Kiba said, on the thirty-first, at 6:48 pm, eyes twinkling and cheeks flushed, nose red from the cold, “Wanna spend New Years with me?” he asks, and Kankuro nods, smiling at him gently.

“Of course.” 

And so he does. It’s stupid and cliche, and it’s jsut them, as Akamaru doesn’t like the fireworks, and they stand in the town square, bundled up as they wait for the countdown.

It finally begins, amongst the snow, and the shouting of the crowd around him bounces around his chest and rattles his ribs and he feels  _ alive  _ and  _ in love.  _

“10!”

Kiba turns to look at him, brown eyes soft and molten as he shuffles closer.

“9!”

Kankuro smiled at him, gently reaching a hand up to cup his jaw.

“8!”

“Hi.” Kiba whispers, leaning into his hand, grin small and fond.

“7!”

“Hi to you too.” he murmurs, scanning over the younger boy’s features.

“4!”

“3!”

They both leaned closer, warm breath tickling each other’s cheeks and lips, grinning happily at each other.

“2!”

“1!”   


They lock lips, sweet, gentle and loving as he cradles his jaw and neck loosely in his hands, eyes fluttering open when they part.

“Happy New Year.” he murmurs, words practically printed on his lover’s lips.

“Go on a date with me.” the other breathes, and Kankuro tilts his head slightly, smiling.

“Of course.”

  
  


Kiba and Kakuro had been dating for five months now, and Kankuro was an idiot but he knew what love felt like, and this was it. Some weird, puppy love, but love nonetheless.

_ ‘From: Kibs _

_ Kibs: _

_ Sorry babe, not feeling well, think I might have caught the stomach bug :(’ _

_ 1:06 pm _

_ ‘To: Kibs _

_ You: _

_ It’s okay baby, hope you feel better.’ _

_ 1:07 pm _

Kankuro groaned, turning his phone off and stuffing it in his back pocket.

“Boyfriend cancel on you?” Itachi asked, and Kankuro nodded.

“Not feeling well, thinks he might have caught the stomach bug that’s going around.” the older Uchiha nods in understanding.

“Wanna go to a party with me tonight?” he offers, “Me, Kisame, Sasuke and Naruto are going.”

“Oh, so everyone is coupled up but me?” he whined, and Itachi sent him an unimpressed look.

“Yes or no, Kankuro?”

“Fine, fine I’ll go.” he relented, sighing slightly as the older Uchiha sent him a smile.   
  


“Maybe we should just go back home,” Kisame said, as he came back to their spot near the wall with a few beers, one for each of them but Itachi, as he was DD.

“What? Why?” Kankuro asked, tilting his head slightly, taking a sip of his beer. He’d gone full makeup-professional on his face paint tonight, and he wanted to show it off, sue him.

“I’m not feeling that way, and this party is kinda lame. We can just crash at Itachi’s and watch a movie or something.” he says, and the said man raises a brow at his boyfriend curiously.

“Yeah, maybe we should just head home, I mean- none of our friends are even here, and you have no other ride home, so, yeah.” Naruto fumbles over his words, and Sasuke pinches his hip slightly.

“What’s going on guys? Is this your attempt at kidnapping me, because you suck at it.” he joked, and Itachi sighed.

“Look, Kankuro-”

“Kiba is cheating on you!” the blond blurts, and his boyfriend looks at him bewildered.

“You you have any less tact, dobe?”

“What? No he’s not.” the taller male says, but his heart is beating out of his chest.

“He is, he’s been fucking Shikamaru since before you got together, and I wanted to tell you, but Kiba said if I was really his friend, I’d get my mouth shut, and so I did, but now I feel really bad, and now he’s here and I-” Naruto rambled, and Kankuro holds his hand up, feeling lightheaded.

“Wait, he’s  _ here? _ ” he asks, and Sasuke nods, pointing behind Kisame.

He glances around the wall of muscle, and has to swallow back tears and bile when he spotted them.

Shikamaru’s got Kiba pinned up against the wall, grinding, kissing and rutting against each other like their lives depend on it.

He chuckles bitterly, pulling out his phone.

_ ‘To: Kibs _

_ You: _

_ Hey, you feeling better?’ _

_ 10:02 pm _

The group of four watches as the male groans as his phone buzzes, pulling away from the slightly taller, ponytail-clad boy. He reattaches himself to his neck, and Kakuro clenches his fist. Kiba pulls out his phone, rolling his eyes.

_ ‘From: Kibs _

_ Kibs: _

_ Yeah, a little bit. Wish u were here.’ _

_ 10:03 pm _

He snorts, lifting up his phone, and quickly snapping a picture of them.

_ ‘To: Kibs _

_ You: _

_ Yeah, I bet you do.’ _

_ 10:03 pm _

_ ‘To: Kibs _

_ You:  _

_ Don’t worry, I'm here.’ _

_ 10:03 _

He sees his boyfriend- _ ex- _ boyfriend, furrow his brows slightly.

_ ‘From: Kibs _

_ Kibs: _

_ What do you mean?’ _

_ 10:04 _

_ ‘To: Kibs _

_ You: _

_ 1 image attached’ _

_ 10:04 _

“Let’s go guys, I’ll let Gaara handle him.” he says, nursing his beer and Kiba’s head swivels towards him. He raises a lazy hand in greeting, before slipping towards the door.

Kisame blocks Kiba when he tries to chase after him, shaking his head.

“You fucked up, Kiba.” Sasuke grunts, arm wrapped around Naruto and Kankuro slips into the backseat. “Kankuro’s a good guy, and you did him fucking dirty. I hope Gaara beats your ass, man.” and then they’re climbing in the backseat with him. Kisame roughly shoves Kiba back, before getting in the passenger side.

He pulls out his phone, quickly changing something, before typing out a text.

_ ‘To: Cheater _

_ You: _

_ I’m pretty sure I don’t have to say we’re over’ _

_ 10:07 _

And then powers his phone off.

“Hey, can I stay at one of you guys’ places tonight? He knows where I live and I don’t want to see him.”

“You can stay with me,” Naruto offers, and Sasuke nods, “Sasuke was going to crash with me anyways, and I just got a guard dog to scare him away if he comes by.”

“Okay thank you Naruto.” he smiled, and Naruto gave him a sympathetic one back.

“Hey, Kurama is good at cuddles, so, not all is lost?” he finished, lamely, and Kankuro gave a small laugh.

Naruto always knew how to make anyone laugh in the worst of times.

  
  


Kankuro groaned as he woke up, standing and stretching. Naruto’s couch was  _ not  _ comfortable, and he’s 78% sure the ‘dog’ is actually a fox. It was creepy.

He powered on his phone, rolling his eyes at the screen.

‘Cheater:

28 unread messages

19 missed calls’

‘Lil Bro

2 unread messages

4 missed calls.’

He unlocked his phone, deleting Kiba’s contact all together, and opened Gaara’s texts.

_ ‘From: Lil Bro _

_ Lil Bro: _

_ Hey, are you okay? Where are you? _

_ 11:45 pm _

_ Naruto said you were at his place but wouldn’t tell me why. Call me.’ _

_ 12:13 am _

_ ‘To: Lil Bro _

_ You: _

_ Hey, I’m fine.’ _

_ 10:06 am _

No sooner than his text go through, than was Gaara calling him.

“Hey.” he mumbled, voice rough from sleep (read: sleep and crying), and Gaara nearly loses his shit.

_ “What the hell happened? Were you that drunk? I was worried si-” _

“Kiba was cheating on me with Shikamaru, he was fucking him even before we got together.”

Gaara is silent, before there’s a closet door opening, and rustling over the line.

“Gaara?” he asks, tentatively.

_ “Come back home. You’re going to have to patch me up like when we were kids.” _

Kankuro groans as the line goes dead. He didn’t actually want Gaara to beat him up, Kiba would kick Gaara’s ass!

Sasuke drove Kankuro home, giving him a sympathetic glance, before muttering, “If it’s any condolence, I’ll tell Yoshino, although Gaara is probably already on ass-kicking number two by now.”

“Wow. You’re horrible at this.” he said, blandly, and Sasuke huffed.

“I know. This is Naruto’s thing. Anyways. Tell Gaara if he didn’t kick Shikamaru’s ass, he can just sick me on him. 20 dollars is 20 dollars.” he joked, and Kankuro laughed.

“If you buy me ice cream, I’ll make it 40.” 

“Deal, see you Kankuro.”

“Bye, Sasuke.”

  
  


45 minutes later, Gaara strutted in, sporting a bruise on his jaw, busted and split knuckles, and a bloody and bruised nose.

“You’re so stupid. Did you win?” he asked, already having a first aid kit out.

“Yeah. You’d be surprised at the amount of damage I can do when I’m angry.” he muttered, sitting down beside him, holding his hand out.

His brother chuckled, cleaning his knuckles gently, and the redhead hisses slightly. He coated them in neosporin, before wrapping them. He then picked up a damp washcloth, wiping away the blood from Gaara’s nose, and a cut in his brow and around his eye he hadn’t noticed before. He patched those up, too, before sighing.

He put the first aid away, before sitting beside Gaara, glancing at the webpage he was on.

_ ‘How to avoid being caught for murder.’ _

“You’re going to get the police called to our house.”

“Bold of you to assume they can stop me.” 

Kankuro wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.

  
  


He opened the door, and sighed. He just wanted to go and grab some fucking beer.

Kiba looked worse for wear, honestly. He had a black eye, a busted lip, and his nose was broken. Gaara really did a number on him. His hand was raised to knock, and he blinked in shock for a moment, before regaining his composure.

“Hi.”

“Please tell me why I shouldn’t send my brother to come and maul you again.” he asked, and Kiba frowned.

“Look, Kankuro, I’m really sorry and I know I fucked up but-”

“5.”

“Hey, no, shut up, Im sorry, but I really like you and-”

“2.”

“You skipped- nevermind, I want another shot.” he said, pleadingly, and Kankuro hummed.

“Nah. I’m good.” and closed the door in his face.

As expected, Kiba knocked on the door, and the taller male shot a glance at his brother, which was apparently unneeded, as he was already flying by him to open the door.

“What the  _ fuck  _ are you doing here?”

“Look, I know I messed up Gaara, but I really like him-”

“Not enough to not fucking cheat on him, you mangy ass bitch.” he spat, and Kiba interuppted him before he could continue.

“Freyja’s death messed me up, and I didn’t realize what I had until it was gone, Gaara, please just listen-”

“Apparently, the message wasn’t clear enough when I was beating your face in, so I’ll say it a second time:  _ stay the fuck away from me and my brother. _ ” and with that, the redhead slammed the door in his face, muttering about that “unkempt bitch” under his breath as he went to the kitchen.

Kiba doesn’t come back, and when he sees Kankuro, he averts his gaze, or stares longingly.

Kankuro’s heart still hurts, and he sometimes thinks about taking Kiba back, because they clicked so well together, being with anyone else just didn’t feel right.

But that’s okay, he’ll just suffer. Wouldn’t want Gaara’s hard work going to waste.


End file.
